By AbdulSalam Muhammad
KANO— Former Nigerian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Alhaji Maitama Sule, yesterday warned northern youths against being used to compromise the unity of the country, asking them to embrace dialogue.
Sule, who spoke in Kano when the leadership of Arewa Youth Development Forum paid him a courtsey visit, said dialogue was the best way to resolve issues of interest rather than violence.
Members of the group had earlier held a rally to drum up support for the dissolution of the country.
Sule said: “I agree with you that the North is confronted with serious political challenges, but you don’t expect me to see it the way you would see it because I am a student of Awo, Zik and Sardauna school of thought that believed and worked tirelessly for one indissoluble Nigeria during their lifetime.
“It is on record that the North has always played a positive role to sustain the unity of this country and would continue to do so in the interest of one indissoluble Nigeria.
“The North has always fought for one Nigeria and I will continue to stand by that principle till the rest of my life.
“If I recall how we survived the crisis of independence, the 1959 election, the 1963 census, the controversial election of 1964, and the civil war, I am optimistic that the current challenges would certainly come to pass and we shall overcome it like the previous ones.
“Let us live and die for the sustenance of Awo, Zik and Sardauna legacy that supports one Nigeria. I also warned that failure to take concrete steps to halt the situation would visit disastrous consequence on the polity.”
“We are doing our best, and we are much determined to ensure Nigerian realised its potential in Africa, and I want Nigerians to know that our togetherness was not by accident and that it is the more reason why we should accommodate one another.
“We need to remain one and we are prepared to make the ultimate sacrifices to realise the dream.“
